Manu’s mojo day-to-day

There have been times, during this blink-and-you-missed it training camp and preseason, that Spurs guard Manu Ginobili felt like a stranger in his own body.

At times, his legs disobey his brain, his eyes see things that are not there, and the game he’s been playing most of his life feels as alien to him as a spacewalk.

“I still feel awkward sometimes,” Ginobili said. “Out of balance.”

Rest assured, this is all part of the plan.

After guiding Argentina’s national team to an Olympic berth at the Tournament of the Americas in September, Ginobili decided to give his 34-year-old body a break.

Unlike All-Star teammate Tony Parker, who played more or less nonstop in Europe from late August through the end of the NBA lockout, Ginobili took a three-month hiatus from organized basketball.

He is feeling the effects, both positive and negative, now. He is well-rested and healthy, but also rusty — and Monday’s opener against ? Memphis is coming, ready or not.

In a pair of preseason games against Houston, Ginobili shot a combined 7 of 22 from the field and did not make a 3-pointer in four tries.

“I’m not exhausted, I’m just out of basketball shape,” Ginobili said. “When I want to do a step-back, I’m out of rhythm. I still need to fine-tune it.”

While Ginobili was going 1 for 8 in Wednesday’s 97-95 victory, the other two-thirds of the Spurs’ Big Three — Parker and All-Star power forward Tim Duncan — starred in their preseason debuts.

Appearing to already be in midseason form, Parker zipped his way to 15 points and five assists in less than 18 minutes. The 35-year-old Duncan required less than 23 minutes to notch 19 points, a total he reached just 13 times last season.

When he chose this offseason path, resting short-term to be fresher long-term, Ginobili knew it meant risking an uneven start to the season.

At home in Argentina, he lifted and ran, and occasionally worked out with Weber Estudiantes, one of that country’s top professional teams. He did not play competitively, however, after the final horn at the Tournament of the Americas.

“Hopefully, in the long-term (the break) helps,” Ginobili said. “Short-term, of course, it doesn’t.”

Ginobili isn’t the only player still looking to find himself.

Given the mad dash from the end of the lockout to the start of the season, Popovich is predicting a league full of gassed players for the first few weeks.

“I’ve got a feeling the first few games, come the fourth quarter, all the teams are going to be dragging,” Popovich said. “I don’t think anybody’s ready to play 35 or 45 minutes.”

Ginobili enters his 10th season coming off one of the most productive campaigns of his career.

In returning to the All-Star Game after a five-season sabbatical, Ginobili averaged 17.4 points and matched a career best at 4.9 assists. He also set new highs in games (80), starts (79) and minutes (2,426)

If anything, Ginobili’s struggles this preseason are proof that, even for a player as natural as he is, basketball is nothing like riding a bike.

“I could really use four or five more preseason games to get sharp,” Ginobili said.

Some players are closer to game-ready than others.

Parker played for the French national team in its own Olympic qualifiers in September, then followed with a two-month stint with ASVEL Villeurbanne, the French League team he co-owns. He arrived at camp two weeks ago pronouncing himself ready to play.

Duncan didn’t play any organized ball during the NBA’s prolonged offseason, but did piece together occasional pickup games in San Antonio. He reported to camp trim and fit.

“It’s easy to lift and run and everything else,” Duncan said. “But to actually get on the floor and play basketball with good competition — that’s what you need.”

It’s what Ginobili needs now, and he knows it.

As for how long it might take him to feel like Ginobili again, at home in his own skin, only time will tell.

“It’s a day-by-day thing,” Ginobili said. “What usually happens is you get better slowly, game-by-game. I’m hoping that’s what happens this time.”